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' Patented Oct. 8, 1895.

(No Model.)

J. H. GREENSTREET. SHIPPING CRATE. No. 547,486.

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limitan Sterns "PATENT @smont- .IASON H. GREENSTREET, OF INDIANAPOLIS,INDIANA.

SHIPPING-CRATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 547,486, dated Cctober8, 1895.

Application filed May 6, 1895. Serial No. 548,279- (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, J AsoN H. GREENSTREET, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new invention is to provide a crate, box,barrel, or

other package, which shall be durable, inexpensive, and simple, andconstructed in such manner that the parts can be made up at the factoryand shipped in knockdown form to the consumer to be quickly and readilyput together by him.

The objectI also is to providea construction wherein the contents willbe well ventilated, and a construction that will hold its shape undersevere test without any bulging out of the sides caused by the weight ofthe contents Aor otherwise.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters ofreference refer to like parts, Figure l is an end' view of the woodmetalmaterial from which the top, bottom, and sides of my improved crate areconstructed, the same being shown in this figure as spread outpreparatory to being bent into the box form shown in the dotted lines.Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a complete crate or box, showing thesolid wooden ends and that portion of the Wood-metal material whichforms the lid in a raised position. Fig. 3 is a detail in end view of amodified construction for a large-sized crate, in which the sides, ends,top, and bottom are made in separate pieces and are united to each otherat their meeting edges by means of metal clasps or staples, and Fig. 4tis a view in top plan of Fig. 3.

The material of which my improved box, crate, or barrel is made iscomposed of wooden slats of suitable length, which are joined inparallel series by means of a plurality of metal strands, (wires or tlatmetal strips,) which are made to pass transversely across the slats andare secured at eachintersection by means of staples or by means ot'tac-ks or nails. A mixed construction, using part wire and part strips,may be used to advantage, the wire,beingcheaperthan the strips,effecting a saving in cost, and the strips being secured by tacks ornails driven through them into the staves, prevent any slipping ormovement of the staves longitudinally along the wires. It is notdesired, however, to limit this invention to the use of Wires or strips,as either may be used alone or both together without departing from thespirit of this inn vention. It is important, however, that all wires'andstrips be on the same side ofthe slats and on that side of rthe slatswhich will be outermost when the wood-metal material thus produced isformed into the sides, top,

the wires secured by means of the-staples Z),

and B the strips secured by means of the nails b. In order to produce astronger and more rigid box, those of the slats which come next to thecorners of the completed box will preferably be of extra thickness, asshown at` A. In making up the material before the same is bent into theform of a box the space between the slats A will be equal to thethickness of the said slats, so as toadmit of their being brought intoposition at right angles to each other in forming the corners.

C represents the ends of the box, and for small and medium sizes will beof wood in one piece or a plurality of pieces fastened together withbattens. v The corners will be notched, as at C', to accommodate theextra thickness of the corner-slats A'. This notched construction, incombination with the heavy corner-slats, greatly adds to the strength ofthe nished box. The top of the box or package will beleft unnailed untilafter the box is illed,and the metal strands will form hinges, wherebythe cover will be secured to the box. When the box is properly filled,the cover will be closed and secured by nailing the ends of the slats tothe box ends. To securely fasten the front edge, a lap or curtain,consisting of an extra slat A2, will be provided, Which will be bentdown against the front of the box and nailed to the same. The bendingdown of the curtain will serve to stretch the Woodmetal material of thetop.

In extralarge crates or boxes the top bottom, sides, and ends may all bemade in separate pieces from Wooden slats connected by metal strands inthe manner as described and the several parts united at the corners ofthe box or crate by means of the metal fasteners D, of usualconstruction, or in any convenient and secure manner. Vhere only minimumstrength is required, it will not be necessary to make the corner-stripsextra thick, and a slat of uniform thickness may be used for the entireconstruction, and the ends of course will not be notched atthe corners.I am aware that packages have been made of a fabric formed of woodenslats woven between strands of wire. The woven nature of the fabric inwhich the wires are interlaced or woven back and forth from the outerface of one of the slats to the inner face of the next, and so on, makesthe fabric elastic in its nature and gives a package constructed fromsuch material the power to stretch equal to the extent of the loosetension and to assume undesirable shapes from the weight of thecontents. This interlacing (weaving) is wholly absent in myconstruction. All of the metal strands are on the same (outside) face ofthe slats. The strands are drawn taut and are fastened immovably to theslats, enabling me to produce from such a material an ironbound `firmpackage, which will under severe test hold its proper shape and form. Bynailing or riveting the slats to the metal band I greatlyincrease thestrength of the packages formed. In the woven construction two smallwires, which can be broken separately, are used, while in myconstruction the same weight of metal, being in a single integralstrand, affords greater strength and security. Instead of a single wirestrand a cable consisting of two or more wires might be used Withoutdeparting from the spirit of this in vention.

What I claim as my invention is A crate or package constructed of woodenslats and metal strands crossing said slats approximately at rightlangles and Asecured to the face of the said slats at each intersection,said material comprising the top, bottom1 and sides of the box orpackage, those slats ofthe said piece which come next to the corners ofthe box being of greater thickness than the other slats, for the purposedescribed, and said crate or package having ends in separate piecessecured to the rest of the box and said ends having notched corners toreceive the extra thick corner slats, substantially as shown anddescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JASON II. GREENSTREET.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH A. MINTURN, W. B. BASSETT.

